A/N: Muse wanted to write this first, so here we are, I suppose.
As ever, the Embers Rule persists.
If folks don't like this, poof! Gone! Deleted for good.
Sorry, but its the sad truth. I don't have a team anymore, meaning I'm writing almost EVERYTHING by myself.
As such, I haven't the time to write a story no one likes. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourselves heard! Furthermore, I was going to update something else today, but someone claimed this is a oneshot and that I wouldn't update this again. So, here we are! Updating this early to prove a point.
Now let's move onto your questions, comments and concerns.
Q: How far are you in the story?
A: Finally met the Shogun. She's...certainly something. Now if only folks hadn't spoiled things for me...
Q: WE DEMAND MORE TEASING OF EI!
A: Now that's a request I'm more than happy to grant!
Q: Will we have more Genshin stories?! Don't stop now! Unleash your imagination! I know you want to~!
A: Suppose that depends on the feedback, no? I mean, I already have A New Archon, Father of Teyvat, and this. Does this site really need more? Do people really want a fourth? Let alone an Ayaka story? I mean, Yoimiya and Naruto running around WOULD be entertaining, but still...! I've got stuff to finish!
I need to control myself...
Q: Don't suppose I could convince you to make this a harem? Ei's all but stated that she'd alright with it.
A: It would take a great deal of that! Technically this is a dual pairing if you count the Shogun as a separate entity to Ei, which I do, but it wouldn't be realistic to stretch it in this story.
Q: Naruto's...holding back, isn't he?
A: Technically so is Ei. If both were actively trying to kill one another in a blood rage, they'd wreck Narukami.
Q: Will Ei get her Gnosis back?
A: *zips lips*
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes.
Really! That ought to be bloody obvious. Now then...
...are you ready? Set? Goooooooooooo~!
"The Raiden Shogun has stood alone for centuries, that much is true. Few have laid eye on her; much less reached her.
Those who have were summarily cut down for their efforts.
But consider this for a moment. Suppose the Shogun meets someone she can't catch. Someone she can't easily kill. Someone she can't comprehend. A young man who challenges her beliefs on every conceivable level; a baffling blond, a trickster who would make even the greatest kitsune titter with glee. Why, he'd drive her mad. The Shogun wouldn't know what to do with him.
Poor little Ei would have no choice but to emerge then, wouldn't she?
And that's where the fun begins."
~Yae.
Third Audience
They say third time's the charm, or so the saying goes.
Perhaps this age old adage holds a nugget of wisdom in the perpetual void that is eternity. Perhaps not. Mayhaps it is merely a saying invented by a particularly clever mortal; a being long before the era of Archons. Who knows? Who can speak to the truth of such things? The Shogun didn't know, and Ei certainly didn't. Regardless, the results spoke for themselves in any case.
"I'm baaaaack~!" she creaked an eye open as a familiar voice called out behind her. "This time I brought you a real treat~!"
She tried to kill him again, of course. It was only perfunctory.
The Shogun struck with a crackling of almighty lightning, cleaving him twine at the waist just as he crossed the threshold. It was a good cut. Simple and clean. Through an' through. Naruto was still walking -still talking!- when she struck him down. His severed halves fell across the entrance, expression unchanging, unaware that she'd even slain him in the first place. A pity perhaps, but this was the only way it could ever end. Dull eyes gazed down at him, a small frown marring her lovely face.
Here at last, she felt a twitch of guilt.
...insolent." she growled at her traitorous heart as much as herself.
"Is it?" a yawn echoed near her flank. "I think its insolent to strike down the person bringing you snacks...
She looked down. Frowned. "Naruto" turned to so much smoke beneath her weapon, leaving her lance lodged in a log. Of course. She'd been a fool to think a third attempt would change anything. It was too much to hope she'd succeed when his guard was down. Honor prevented a sneak attack. She could only ever strike at him directly...and fail. Over. And over. Again. The Shogun didn't take it personally. She'd find an opening sooner or later. Striking now while his guard was up availed her naught.
.
..
...besides, she was rather curious to see what he'd brought her this time.
So she lowered her polearm and turned to face him.
"...next time, I shall strike twice."
"Strike as many times as ya like!" She whirled to find him sitting opposite her, legs crossed in a meditative position, a little green box balanced in his lap. "Ya ain't gonna catch me~!"
Ei however, was all too human. She took such failure personally. You see, she wanted to cry. To shout and scream like the child she still was at heart. In an instant, the Shogun found herself subsumed -against her will!- as the true owner of her form surged to the fore once more.
"Why?!" she raised a shaking fist at him and gripped her wrist to hold herself back. "Why can't I hit you?!"
"You can." her intruder allowed, "Ya definitely can. I just don't lower my guard around you, so I always lead with a few shadow clones until you calm down."
Blast him. Her eyes narrowed, seeking the imperfections in his form and finding none.
"And are you one such clone?"
"Maybe~!" he winked. "But we're friends now, aren't we? Lets get along."
"Know your place." Ei huffed and crossed both arms before her bosom. "You are an acquaintance, nothing more.
"C'mon, don't pout." he sing-songed at her and opened the box to reveal it unto wanting eyes. "Here, I brought you some tri-colored dango." exposed were a trio of skewers, each bearing a trio of multi-colored rice balls set within. "Try some. You'll love it."
Ei sniffed, feigning disdain, even as something leaped in her.
Her fingers twitched. 'It smells so good...surely a single bite wouldn't hurt-ahem! No! Do not be swayed!'
"Trying to tempt me with desert again? Her lips pursed, even at her sweet tooth sang to the sound of sugar. "Just because it worked once does mean it will again."
"Aw." Naruto frowned and made to close the box. "Guess you don't want these, then."
Panic bleated to life in her heart. "I never said that- mmph!"
Her words piqued into a startled yelp as Naruto surged to his feet and thrust one such stick into her mouth. Any semblance of protest shriveled on Ei's tongue. Her lips betrayed her and closed around it to savor the sugary sweet taste, all but ripping the rice balls off the skewer. She chewed thrice, swallowed. Flavor exploded across her tongue to obliterate her resistance.
"Well?" Naruto grinned as his arm withdrew, taking the now empty skewer with it.
A tiny noise escaped Ei's lips as she closed her eyes and touched a hand to her cheek. It might've been a moan. She wasn't sure.
"Mmm~!"
Definitely a moan.
Irrelevant! She wanted more!
In a blind panic, she made a grab for the other two, only to frown as Naruto held them just out of her reach.
"...!"
Her eyes narrowed and she made another attempt, but he swayed away just out of her grasp. How he accomplished that while still sitting she knew not. For a moment, just a moment, she couldn't read him. As if he were some peaceful deity and she a mere mortal grasping at straws. She saw peace and eternity in his eyes, a tranquility she'd spent the last five-hundred-years striving for. It was infuriating! She stomped a foot as she hadn't since her sister was still alive and absolutely growled.
"Surrender the sweets at once!"
"Sit down with me, first." he instructed, "We have all day. I'm not going anywhere."
Her eyes narrowed. Curious. He only ever lingered for a few minutes. "You're not going to run off this time?"
"Nope." Naruto smacked his lips. "C'mon, siddown already. There's no need to stand on ceremony here, ya know."
Ei made angry Ei noises. "I shan't kneel to the likes of you."
"I wasn't asking ya to!"
When she made a third such swipe, her guest finally retaliated. Ei lunged, all but fling herself out of him. Naruto pivoted with his hips where he sat, swatted her hand aside, then flicked her forehead with a single finger. Ei crashed to the ground and scrambled up thrice as fast. Trembling fingers rose to caress the rising welt at her head.
"You...!"
Somewhere in the back of her head, she could've sworn she heard the Shogun sigh.
"Care to try again?" Naruto wiggled the sticks at her, and said sigh was swept aside in the wake of her embarrassment. Fourth time's the charm." he touched a finger to his chin. "Or was it the third...?"
Angry violet eyes met placid blue. Reluctantly, the Archon folded both legs beneath her and sat. Naruto placed the remaining sticks of dango back in the box and offered it to her. Ei latched onto it. Latched hard. Her gaze flitted down to it. The moment she did, she felt him take her braid in hand.
Ei went terribly still. "What're you doing?"
"Nothing." his smile was too pure for this world. "Just admiring your hair."
Heat rose in her cheeks. She stamped it into oblivion. "Release my braid this instant."
"Nope. Yae said she used to brush your hair." he flashed her a sheepish smile as his fingers played with the tail of her braid. "Said something about it keeping you calm. May I...?"
Ei's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. Words failed to come. Damn her. She'd intended to punish Yae before, but the matter had simply slipped her mind. Now it rose to the forefront of her thought again like a terrible storm, blotting out all else and ohmythatdidfeelrathernice...
When had she presented her tack to him? She didn't remember doing that!
In no time at all those nimble fingers undid her long braid, leaving her hair to pool in his lap. Ei began to nibble on her treats, consumed by a sudden pang of anxiety. She didn't know where on Teyvat Naruto had secured a comb from -it certainly felt like one!- but he was careful with it, running it through heir long tresses in slow deliberate strokes. The teeth of it caressed her scalp, drawing forth an almost forgotten feeling...and a pang of bitterness alongside it. Her dear sister had been better at it perhaps, but this felt so terribly nostalgic...
Perhaps we shouldn't kill him. The Shogun prodded. He has proven himself useful. Mayhap he could be our guard...?
No! Treacherous thoughts! She would be swayed by...by...ooooh! She stilled herself as his fingers tickled the back of her neck for a moment. It was becoming quite difficult to focus. Was it hot in here? Or was it just her? Her vision swayed a little and she found herself tempted to shake her head; but that meant this wonderful feeling would stop...
...so technically you're two people, right?"
Color flooded her cheeks as he worked. "That is a most improper way to put it!"
"Ya ever thought about separating yourself from the Shogun? I mean, it sounds like she deserves a life, too...
"She serves her purpose. She is eternal." a thought occurred to her suddenly, as she recalled something a certain ambassador had once mentioned to her. "Unlike visions. They are an impediment to eternity." why was she telling him this? Why couldn't she stop talking? Why had her tongue betrayed her so?!" "I have been contemplating simply removing them from the islands...
She felt something shift behind her, just a hair, little more an inch. "No."
She didn't expect him to put his foot down. "I beg your pardon?"
"I said no." she couldn't see him, now while he brushed her hair, but his voice was pure steel. "I'll be honest, I don't much know what a Vision is, but they sound important to the people. Leave their Visions alone. Let the lot of them be, alright?."
Ei glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Visions induce change. Change is not eternal. Change is the enemy of eternity."
Surely even he could see this?
"On that we disagree, change IS eternal." Naruto hummed as he continued to stroke her long hair. "Because it'll always happen, one way or another...
"I promised my people an unchanging eternity." She argued back. "They cannot remain as they are with Visions. But without them...!"
She heard him scoff. "That's the mindset of a tyrant. If you're so concerned about eternity, then why don't you try something else?"
Her brow furrowed at Naruto. "What do you propose then? Speak plainly...
They spoke of many things that day, change the least of them.
A/N: Poor, poor Ei. Naruto is even more persuasive than the Traveler...
As ever, the Embers Rule persists. So? Should this be a story?
By all means, speak up! Make yourselves heard!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the Previews!
As ever:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
As ever, these are from the far flung future...or are they~?!
(Previews!)
"My, my. Taming the shogun with sweets. Never thought I'd see the day...
"Yup! I've decided." he reached forward and flicked her forehead. "I'm going to save your heart. Definitely!"
Color slammed into Ei's cheeks with all the force of a thunderbolt. "Don't say it like that!"
Naruto tilted his head. "...why not?"
"It sounds like a proposal!"
Another blink. "And?"
Ei squeaked.
"I once heard a saying." Naruto hummed. "No one can say where his path will take him. Even for the duration of a single day."
"Wise words." The Shogun allowed with a frown as she set down her teacup. "More difficult still is to see where one's path will intersect that of another. A true warrior must always be alert for such meetings. Some, like ours, are generated by happenstance and those may be benign." her hand rose, crackling with a sphere of lightning. "But others are arranged with purpose. Those must never be underestimated. Fortunately there are always signs. Before any trap is sprung, it must be prepared and primed, and armed. If one reads the signs properly, the pattern of the attack will be clear."
She closed her hands around it, stifling her restored power.
"But one must always remember." her eyes held his, like deep pools of eternity. "That launching a trap is easier than defeating it."
"You're a fan of history, I see."
Her eyes were cold. "I have lived it, Naruto."
"See, this is why I like talking with you and Ei. You're both different. And...
She blinked slowly. "And?"
He laughed. "You finally said my name!"
The Shogun turned a deep, dark red.
Sara snarled. "I demand an honor duel!"
Naruto didn't look up. "Nope. Sleepy. Don't wanna...
"Come to reclaim your Gnosis, hmmm?"
...that, and answers." the accusation was clear. "You were behind this."
Yae's smile was decidedly cheeky. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You had a hand in bringing him here. I don't know how you did it, but I know it was you. How did you summon him?"
...there's a one-armed Oni woman wreaking havoc across the island!
Ei raised her gaze an inch. It couldn't be. "Chiyo...?"
Naruto sat up. "Friend of yours, I take it?"
...once. No longer."
R&R~!